HCMC – Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung has given multiple reasons for rejecting a proposal to increase the number of days off to five for Vietnam’s National Day holiday on September 2.

Minister Dung told the local media on the sidelines of the ongoing sitting of the 14th National Assembly on June 10 that even though the proposal is aimed at boosting the tourism sector, it is necessary to carefully consider other aspects and assess its impact. This year, National Day is in the middle of the week, leading to a wide gap between the holiday and the weekend, he noted, adding that receiving compensation for the days off is unreasonable. Over the past few months, as Vietnam adopted various Covid-19 prevention and control measures and issued the social distancing order, employees and students have had several weeks off. It is now high time for the country to both prevent and fight the coronavirus and focus on getting the manufacturing sector back on track and recovering the labor market to foster economic growth. Moreover, employers decide the number of days off as compensation or in exchange for holidays for employees at firms in line with the prevailing regulations and the Labor Law. The Government can only allow the two million public employees to take days off for the holiday, a trivial number compared with the 55 million active laborers. If the prime minister passes the proposal, the tourism sector will not see significant benefits, said Minister Dung. Apart from this, between September 3 and 5, students normally start their new academic year. “For these reasons, the ministry and I have objected to the proposal to allow five days off for the upcoming national day holiday. I had discussed the proposal with the prime minister and he agreed with my opinion,” said Minister Dung. Tourism authorities had previously proposed that the Government extend the National Day holiday on September 2 by four days to stimulate the tourism sector after Covid-19.